1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to peristaltic pumps and is applicable to linear peristaltic pumps and rotary peristaltic pumps having a section of resilient tubing disposed in between rollers or reciprocal fingers or pushers which progressively radially compress sections of the tubing to pump liquids. More particularly, the present invention pertains to linear and rotary peristaltic pumps which not only radially compress successive sections of resilient peristaltic pump tubing but also axially elongate the peristaltic Dump tubing with an adjustable tensioning means to elongate the peristaltic pump tubing to precisely control the cross sectional configuration of the tubing to adjust the flow rate of fluid pumped through the tubing in combination with a means for determining and displaying the speed of the motor operating thee peristaltic pump.
The novel linear and rotary peristaltic pumps constructed in accordance with the invention are particularly applicable to peristaltic pumps having a plurality of flow lines for precisely metering sample liquids to a plurality of samples in a precise and metered volume that are pumped by a peristaltic pump of a linear or rotary peristaltic pump design. The adjustable flow regulation in combination with the display or means for monitoring the speed of the drive motor is particularly advantageous in individually adjusting each of the peristaltic pump flow lines to precisely calibrate a predetermined flow rate or volume from each of the peristaltic pump flow lines to make certain each flow line delivers the same precise metered volume of fluid from each of the flow lines by the individual axial tensioning of each of the peristaltic pump tubing lines and for modifying the rate of flow by varying the speed of a variable speed motor means for driving the peristaltic pump. The axial tensioning of the tubing in conjunction with the speed of a variable speed electric motor imparts important adjustable flow regulation for the precise metering of fluids for applications in medical, biomedical and laboratory applications that require the precise metering and control for the delivery of fluids.